William fowler



W. FOWLER.

SOLE.y

APPucMlou FILED Avena. |918.

1,317,969. Patented oct. 7,1919.

#WEA/mm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM FOW'LER, 0F CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR T0 UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, 0F PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SOLE.

Specdcstion of Letters Patent.

l Patented Oct. 7, 1919.

Original application illed October 15, 1915, Serial No. 56,093. Divided and this application iiled August 2B, 1918. Serial No. 251,741.

To all 'whom 'it ma concern:

Be it known t at I, WILLIAM FowLnR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati,l in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain Improvements in Soles, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanyin drawings, is a specification, like reference c aracters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of boots and shoes and more particularly to the production of soles for use in the manufacture of shoes.

The invention is herein shown for purposes of illustration as embodied in an insole of the kind used in the manufacture of Goodyear welt shoes although it is to be understood that the invention is' also applicable to the production of soles for shoes of other types.

Insoles of the kind used in makin ,Goodyear welt shoes are ordinarily provi ed with a marginally extending shoulder by which the shoe upper and the welt are secured to the insole and a feather which isthe portion of the insole projecting beyond this shoulder and supporting the over-lasted margin of the shoe upper. This feather is of substantially the same cross-sectional thickness around the toe portion of the insole that it is along the adjacent fore art and the shank whereas the toe portion o a shoe upper and especially the portion which is lasted over and supported by the feather of the insole` is of an appreciably greater thickness than its adjacent rtions because of the incorporation -in t e shoe u per of the additional toe stiiienin materi s. By reason of this the welt of t shoe is necessarily seated on the overlasted portion of the shoe upper Vin a substantiall igher plane relativel -to the sewing shoul er about the'toe of t e shoe than throughout the rest of the shoe and consequently considerable diiiiculty is experienced by the inseamng operator in sewing around the toe of the shoe. If the o eraltor sews high 'on the sewing shoulder, t us locating the inseam substantially above its base, a weak inseam results and subsequently when the sole is attached the toe portion of the sole is necessarily held out of the proper plane of the tread of the shoe IThe feat er of the insole is shown as because of the height of the inseamat thispoint. On the other hand, if the height of the sewing shoulder will not permit of its being sewed high the 'long stitch seam which is formed lby sewing full will be exposed in the welt crease around the toe of the completed shoe and produce what is termed in the trade a grinning toe which, of course, detracts from the neat appearance and salability of the shoe.

An object of the present invention is to produce an improved shoe sole which will overcome the diiiculties incident to the inseaming operation because of the increased thickness of the end portion of the shoe upper caused by the stlifening material, and which will result in superior shoemaking.

With this object in view the present invention contemplates the roduction of an improved sole for shoes 1n which the feather of an end portion of the sole is uniformly reduced in cross sectional thickness an amount to compensate for the additionalthickness of the upper stili'ening material at the end portion of the shoe upper overlying the said reduced feather of the sole. The invention'is herein villustrated as embodied in an insole having a continuous sewinglip extending marginally of the insole and a feather rejecting beyond the se u in thickness forwardly of a line substantially coincident with the tip line by removing a skivin of uniform thickness from the up er or fies side of the feather with any suita ly adapted skiving machine although this reduction might well be obtained by compressin the feather of the insole at the toe. By ucing the cross sectional thickness of the feather of the insole about the toe portion, the plane of 'the overlasted marginof the shoe upper about the toe is substantial the same t roughout the shoe and it is simi arl located relatively to the sewing rib or shou miv der so that the upper and welt attachin l seam may be proper y located at the base o the shoulder about the toe portion ofl the shoe with facility and precision. g

y Inasmuch as the object of the invention in one aspect is to increase the height of the sewing rib proportionately to the additional thickness of the shoe upperto be secured thereto and this without causing the top o'f projecti the sewing rib rto project above ad'acent portions o the rib, 1t is obviously su cient to reduce that portion of the feather which is adjacent to the shoulder, leaving the entire edge portion of the sole of the original thickness. This procedure would, of course, be advantageous in the application of the invention to a sole for turn shoes. However, in an insole of the kind used in making Goodyear welt shoes, the thickness of the insole edge at the toe portion is more or less immaterial since 1t is adequately strengthened by the box toe materials and also 1t does not show in the finished shoe, Accordin ly the feather of the sole is herein illustrated as being uniformly reduced throughout its entire Width about the toe portion.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from Ithe following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings and the invention Will then be defined in the appended claims.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the forepart portion of the insole p-artly in section showing one manner in which the present invention has been carried out;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of one side of shoe illustrating the attachment of the u per and the welt to the shoulder of tle insolje rearwardly of the tip line of the s oe;

Fig. 3 is asimilar viewillustrating the attachment of the shoe upper and Welt to the insole around the 'toe o the shoe.

The insole herein shown for convenience in illstrating the invention is of the Economy-Gem type which is used to a large extent in the manufacture of Goodyear welt shoes. This insole consists of a sole-shaped leather blank 2 having its uper marginal surface channeled so as to form an outer lip 4 and an inner channeled 'lip 6 from substantially the heel breast line on one side of the shoe around theshank and forepart to a point on the opposite side. The two channel lips 4 and 6 are turned up viardly and the surface of the blank is covered with a layer of reinforcing canvas 8 which extends across the upturned l1 s 4, 6 and on to the feather portion 10 of t e sole beyond the outer lip 4. The upstanding ips 4, 6, togetheruwrth the canvas 8, constitute the shoulder orsewin nb to receive the stitches which attach t e shoe upper and welt to the insole. The sevring shoulder, as shown, projects, the same helght above the feather portion 10 throughout and the channeling operation reduces a feather of a uniform. thickness. is structural re# lation of the feather 8 and the s ewl shoulder 4, 6 of an insole being universe ly ployed at the present time not only 1n in soles for the manufacture of Goodyear welt/ shoes, but also in soles for shoes of other types, as for exam le turn`shoes.

In accordance with the present invention, the insole is constructed and arranged to compensate for the additional thickness of the portion of the upper at the toe, which is lasted over the feather and against the sewing shoulder 4, 6 by reason of the toe stifl'ening element or toe box of the up er so as to cause the welt to lie in substantie ly the same plane about the toetportion of the shoe that it does through the orepart. This is herein accomplished by uniformly reducing the feather portion 10 of the insole around the toe an amount to compensate for the extra thickness of the toe stlfi'ening 'material employed. As herein illustrated the reduced portion of the feather 10 extends from sub stantially the tip line at one side o-f the insole to a corresponding point on the opposite side as indicated at a, a, and conveniently this reduction is secured by removing from the upper surface of 'the feather l() a skiving of substantially uniform thickness by the use of a suitable skiving machine. This reduction, however, could also be secured by compressing the material of the feather 10 of the insole about the toe. By thus reducing the thickness of the feather around the toe of the insole in the manner described, it will be seen that the depth of 'the shoulder or sewing rfb 4, 6 is correspondingly increased an amount substantially equivalent to the additional. thickness of the toe stiii'ening material Where it is lasted over on to the feather and consequently the welt, when secured to the insole together with the upper, oocu ies the same position relatively to the shou der and will lie in the same plane above the bottom of the last around the toe as it does along the forepart and shank.

In the use of the insole herein described, the portion of the shoe upper along the sides of t e shoe is lasted over the feather 10 and formed against the shoulder 4, 6 in the usual manner as indicated in Fig. 2, the structural relation of the feather `and the sewing rib being such that in the operation of attaching the welt`9 and upper 12 to the shoulder by stitches 1.4 they can be properly located at the base of the shoulder without undue ma-y nipulation of theshoe by the operator during the inseaming operation so as to draw the overlasted upper and the welt into the angle formedbetween the feather 10 and the outer wall of the sewing shoulder. In lasting the portion of the shoe the upper 12, together with the additional thickness of toe ,stiflenng material indicated at 16, is lasted 'over the feather and against the shoulder 4, 6 in the same manner as along the' sides. By reason of the `.reduction in the thickness of the feather 10, this overlasted portion of the upper, together with the welt, equals the thickness of the feather, the shoe upper and the welt along the sides of the shoe, as illustrated by the arrows b c, c c, Figs. 2 and 3. Thus the welt 9 occupies the same position relatively to the sewing shoulder at the toe that it does rearwardly thereof so that the inseam stitches 14 atfachin the welt and upper can be as readily locate( at the base of the shoulder 4, 6. lVhile the insteam stitches about the toe are necessarily somewhat longer, by enabling them to be located at the base of the shoulder, the upper and welt are drawn into the angle in substantially the same manner as along the sides of the shoe. Thus the diHiculty of having the inseam stitches appear in the welt crease at the toe is entirely eliminated. Moreover, by causing the shoe upper and welt to be drawn into the larger angle formed by reason of the greater height of the sewing shoulder a much shorter and consequently stronger inseam stitch is secured around the toe. Since the overlasted ortion of the stiil'ening material fully o sets in supporting utility the portion of the feather which is skived away, no impairment of the serviceability of the insole is occasioned by the reduction of the feather. It will be further noted that with the insole construction herein described the inseam trimming operation can be performed more closely and uniformly without danger of cutting too deep into the inseam about the toe of the shoe because the welt and the inseam at the toe project the same relative distance above the adjacent inner surface of the innersole throughout the entire shoe and as a further result the outsole can be seated upon a level surface and thus reduce a flat tread surface for the shoe. This latter feat-ure is itself of considerable importance inasmuch as it eliminates many of the difficulties heretofore encountered by reason of the unevenness of the shoe bottom to receive the outsole and enables a better appearing shoe to be produced.`

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:`

1. As an article of manufacture, a sole for shoes in which the feather at the toe end Aportion of the sole is uniformly reduced in thickness throughout its surface an amount sufficient to compensate for the thickness of the upper stiening material at the end portion of the shoe upper in excess of its thickness along the sides of the shoe.

2. As an article of manufacture, an insole for shoes comprising a blank provided with a marginal sewing rlb and a feather located outside the sewmg rib and having the feather at the toe portion of the insole reduced in thickness relatively to the thickness of the 4adjacent portions of the feather an amount sufiicient to compensate for the thickness of the overlasted ortion of the toe stifl'ening materials of a s loe upper.

3. As an article of manufacture, an insole for shoes comprising a blank provided with a continuous sewing rib located a distance in from the outer edge of the blank to form a feather for the sole and having the feather at the toe portion of the sole reduced in thickness relatively to the thickness of the adjacent portions of the feather an amount sufficient to compensate for the thickness of the overlasted toe portion of a shoe up er which is in excess of the thickness of a jacent portions of a shoe upper.

4. An insole having a toe portion provided with a continuous lip, a substantial feather extending outside of said lip except at the toe and the feather substantially reduced in cross sectional thickness at the toe.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

WILLIAM FOWLER. 

